Gwil's Guide to Growing Up Torchwood: Year 2, Chapter 4

[amuly]

Title: Gwil's Guide to Growing Up Torchwood: Year 2, Chapter 4
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Gwil, +Team
Word Count: 1,600
Rating: PG
Summary: When a seven-year-old boy falls through the Rift, Ianto and Jack decide to adopt him. This is the story of his life at Torchwood.
Chapter Summary: Gwil's school uniforms arrive; Ianto pins the trouser legs to be hemmed; Jack admires the view.
Warnings: none
A/N: Posting earlier, against analia_the_1st  's wishes, because I couldn't help myself it's so damn cuuute. So, yay, Gwil! But this is acting as your Thursday update: no more updates until next Monday.

Previous Chapters:
Prologue
The First Year:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
The Second Year:
1, 1.PWP, 2, 3
 

 

Jack grinned as he stood in the corner of Gwil's bedroom, watching Ianto tut and fuss over Gwil's new school uniforms. Gwil was standing in the center of his room, chest bare and arms out as he stared down at Ianto. Tad was crouching on the floor at Gwil's feet, handful of tacks in his mouth as he pinned an extra four centimeters of material on the trousers up. Jack had said they should just buy trousers that actually fit, but Ianto hadn't seen the sense when they could get twice the amount of use out of trousers that started a size too big.

Shifting slightly where he stood, Jack cocked his head as his eyes trailed down to focus on Ianto's arse. It was rather beautifully laid out before him: jacket hiked up, trouser material stretched tight over the two globes... Jack's grin widened.

“Tad, Dad's staring at your bum again.”

Jack spluttered, uncrossing his arms as Ianto turned to look over his shoulder at him. To Jack's relief, Ianto was smiling knowingly. “Your dad does have a bad habit of doing that, doesn't he?” Ianto addressed Gwil. Above him, Gwil nodded solemnly. The look he gave Jack was a mini-version of Ianto's arched eyebrow – the only difference being that Gwil hadn't quite figured out how to raise an individual eyebrow, and had to settle for lifting both in chastisement. Jack tried to look suitably ashamed.

As Ianto turned back to his work measuring the hem for Gwil's trousers, Jack made a plaintive noise. Gwil's big blue eyes were still trained on him, so Jack addressed him. “Your tad just looks so handsome when he's tailoring clothes.” From his location at Gwil's ankles, Ianto made an incredulous noise.

“Alright, take these off.” Ianto sat back from Gwil, waiting as the little boy carefully slid out of the pinned trousers. Jack stepped forward and took the trousers, setting them aside on the back of the chair with the other four pairs Ianto had already hemmed. Picking up the last pair, Jack handed them to Gwil, who slipped them on without hesitation. He had already been through the process four times, after all.

Jack's wrist strap chose that moment to beep, and he frowned down at it. Gwil and Ianto continued their measuring: it was Ianto's assigned day off, so unless the world was about to end, he didn't need to respond to any Rift alerts. Jack however, was still on duty – he had just slipped down to their quarters to watch the trying-on while the Rift had stayed quiet and his paperwork had been completed.

“Toshiko?” Jack turned away from Gwil and Ianto as he spoke into his ear comm. “What's going on up there?”

Owen's voice came through on the comm in reply. “Don't worry about it, Jack. Just a flagged report coming from a residential. Gwen and I can handle it. Enjoy your time with the Missus.”

Frowning at Owen's last jibe, Jack decided to be the bigger man and not react to it. Instead, he pushed it to the back of his mind and flicked off his comm, turning back to Ianto and Gwil with relief. Ianto was just finishing up pinning the last hem, nodding satisfactorily to himself as he did. He glanced back at Jack, raising an inquiring eyebrow. “They don't need me,” he reassured Ianto, who frowned as he stood.

“If they do-”

Jack waved away Ianto's concern. “They don't. Owen told me so himself, and you know he'd be the first to get my a-” he glanced at Gwil, who was standing there patiently, listening, “-butt up there.”

Ianto nodded distractedly, seemingly satisfied with his answer. The younger man was frowning as he stared at the other pieces of Gwil's new uniform that had come in the post: plastic-wrapped packages of button-down shirts and shorts and jackets and ties. As Gwil stood patiently in his pinned trousers and nothing else, Ianto selected and unwrapped a shirt, jacket, and tie from the piles.

Jack watched, broad grin on his face as Ianto held out each article of clothing to Gwil, who took them and carefully put them on. Tiny fingers fumbled with buttons, double and triple-checking to make sure he had holes and buttons aligned properly. Ianto waited just off to the side, letting Gwil look into his wall-mirror as he straightened and tugged at his shirt.

Once that was done up properly, Gwil popped his collar and looked expectantly up at Ianto. He handed the boy his tie, waiting as Gwil's fingers fumbled with the silk strip. Jack's grin widened as Gwil grew more and more frustrated, tying an improper knot, then untying it, then tying something that turned out to not actually be a knot at all, the material falling loose as soon as he let go of it.

Ianto started forward, uniform jacket thrown over his forearm and hands outstretch to help. But Gwil shook him off, face set like stone as he glared into the mirror. “I can do it!” he insisted, fingers going again to the silk, and again falling away without a successful knot.

Tears started to well up in his eyes as he continued to struggle with the material. Ianto, at a loss for what to do, hovered just outside of Gwil's personal space, eyes wide and concerned as he fumbled, seeking an appropriate reaction. He turned to Jack, silently pleading for help.

Grin still on his face, Jack stepped over, dropping down onto his haunches beside Gwil. The little boy turned his face away from his dad, quietly sniffing as he let the tie hang loose around his neck. “Hey, champ: you've seen Tad and I get dressed in the morning for special meetings, right?”

There was some loud sniffling, but then Gwil tilted his head slightly, glancing at Jack out of the corner of his eye. “Like with the Prime Minister?”

“Yeah, exactly.” Jack put a big hand on Gwil's back, patting it comfortingly. “And do you remember how Tad tied my tie when I had to wear one?”

Gwil sniffed again, but nodded. “He got behind you and tied it for you.” A hiccuping little laugh escaped Gwil's throat, and he turned more fully into Jack. “I thought you two were going to start sex again, but then Tad said you were going to be late.”

Above the two of them, Ianto sighed loudly. “Glad to know our son's on his way to becoming a sex addict,” he murmured.

“It's healthy,” Jack shot back, smirking up at Ianto. When the other man smiled ruefully down at him, Jack turned his attention back to Gwil. “I let Tad tie my tie because he's the best at it. Better than Uncle Owen or Uncle Rhys or Uncle Andy or me. That's why he's going to hem your trousers, too: because he's an expert at all this clothing stuff.”

Shyly Gwil glanced up at Ianto in the mirror. He looked back at Jack, eyes still red. “I know you're just trying to make me feel better.”

Jack laughed, rubbing Gwil's back roughly. “Yeah, I am. But you did see Tad tie my tie for me, right? So what I said's true.”

Gwil considered this for a long moment, eyes sliding between Jack squatting next to him, and Ianto standing behind him in the mirror. Finally, Gwil held the tie up to Ianto. “Show me. But don't do it for me!” he cautioned. “I want to learn.”

Ianto's entire body relaxed visibly with relief as he joined Jack in his squatting position on the floor, loosening his tie as he lowered himself to the ground. “Put yours around your neck and watch me.”

Watching as man led boy in intricately tying a small piece of silk, Jack felt warmth blossom in his chest. Ianto and Gwil made such a perfect father and son: quiet, studious, fiercely intelligent, and with a wry sense of observation that would put Stephen Fry to shame. They even looked alike, with their dark brown hair, curly when grown out, and bright blue eyes.

“Jack?” Owen's voice crackled through on the comm, and Jack tore his gaze away from his little family. “Looks like we could actually use you on this one. There's some tiny... green dog-cricket... thing... anyway, Tosh says he's speaking a dialect of Galactic Standard, but it's too off for our translation software.”

With a sigh Jack pressed the contact in his ear. “On my way, Owen. Just don't wave at him.”

“Why, what- Tosh, no, wait!”

Jack closed his eyes as a burst of vicious Galactic Standard swears filled his comm. Reluctantly he leaned forward and pecked Ianto on the temple, pushing himself to his feet a moment later. “Gotta run, champ.” Jack ruffled Gwil's hair, glancing in the mirror once at his progress. “I expect you to help me with my tie next time I have to go to an important meeting, right?”

Gwil's face was determined as he stared up at Jack's reflection in the mirror. “Okay, Dad. Be safe hunting the aliens.”

Jack's eyes met Ianto's in the mirror as he promised: “I will.” With a wink and a flourish of his coat, Jack swept out of their rooms and out of the Hub, away from Ianto and Gwil. He needed to keep the world safe from miniature green dog-crickets, after all.


Continue onto Chapter 5.

Oh, and in case you guys missed it:
jedimonkeyspock made me some Gwil fanart! Check it out!

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

i love this its fantastic :) and Gwil is so sweet I just wanna hug him

oh and i love ur GIFs down the side the christain and syed one is so cute

[amuly.livejournal.com]

Awww thanks!

And I am immensely proud of this .gifs, since I spent about 2 days this week figuring out the coding and how to do it and everything ^.^

mercury_pheonix has a ton more Christian/Syed gifs over on her LJ, if you wanted to take a look.